In 1898 Arnold Balwé was born as the son of a Dutch embassador in Dresden, Germany. Balwé spent his early youth in the South African port of Durban. He attended secondary school in Würzburg, Germany. A subsequent agricultural internship took him to Lower Bavaria, where in Straubing in 1918 he met his wife-to-be, the artist Elisabeth Staimmer. In 1919 Arnold Balwé worked in an architect's office for a year. In 1920 the artist decided to study at the academy in Antwerp. A little later he interrupted his studies to go to Italy for a year. He discovered his true artistic calling under Professor Carl Caspar at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts from 1922 to 1927. Even during his studies, Arnold Balwé received the Alexander von Humboldt-Prize. At an early age he settled in Übersee-Feldwies at Lake Chiemsee in Southern Germany, from where he ventured on numerous study trips throughout Europe. Since 1928 the artist's work has been shown at important exhibitions, including the "Neue Sezession" in Munich and the "Rheinische Sezession" in Düsseldorf. During the Nazi rule Balwé's works were confiscated in various exhibitions between 1936 and 1943. In 1946 the first post-war exhibition of his pictures took place in Prien am Chiemsee, followed by a 1949 exhibition in the Munich "Lenbachhaus". Arnold Balwé continued to exhibit during the fifties. Up to 1983 he participated in the exhibitions of the "Neue Gruppe" at the Munich "Haus der Kunst" each year. One year before his death in 1982, Arnold Balwé was awarded the "Oberbayrischer Kulturpreis". In 1988 a comprehensive commemorative exhibition in honor of the aritist took place in Prien am Chiemsee. Throughout his life Balwé's works have always been marked by an extraordinary painting stile. His post-Impressionist lyrical landscapes, still lifes and flower pieces were executed with strong, pasty coloring and vivid brush strokes.